Results tagged ‘ American League ’
Kuroda has found a home at Yankee Stadium
There is always concern whether a pitcher who has had success in the National League can transfer that to the American League where lineups tend to be deeper because of the designated hitter rule. This is particularly true in the AL East where pitchers get very little margin for error. Go ask Javier Vazquez or A.J. Burnett.
The issue came up when the Yankees signed Hiroko Kuroda in the off-season. The Japanese-born righthander was a sturdy if unspectacular starter with the Dodgers who had a 41-46 record and 3.45 ERA over four seasons in Los Angeles. I can remember Lou Piniella saying years ago that teams needed to be careful when acquiring pitchers from the Dodgers because their statistics are aided greatly by the conditions at Dodger Stadium where the dimensions are deep and where the ball does not travel well in the damp southern California air, especially at night.
So along comes Kuroda, who seems to have turned that theory upside-down. Yankee Stadium, with its cozy right-field porch and other hitter-friendly amenities, is hardly a pitchers’ dream, but Kuroda has pitched better in the Bronx than he ever did in Chavez Ravine.
His latest success story at the Stadium was Wednesday’s rain-shortened, 6-0 seven-inning victory. Kuroda gave up a double and three singles, did not walk a batter and struck out five in improving his record to 9-7 with a 3.46 ERA.
In 11 starts at Yankee Stadium this year, Kuroda is 7-3 with a 2.68 ERA and has held opponents to a .219 batting average with seven home runs and 21 RBI in 270 at-bats. Just think; in his years at Dodger Stadium, Kuroda was barely a .500 pitcher with a 20-21 record and 3.43 ERA.
The Yankees wasted no time in providing Kuroda a comfort level as they struck for four runs in the first inning off Toronto lefthander Ricky Romero. On a day when figurines of his likeness were distributed to fans, Mark Teixeira followed a double by Derek Jeter and a run-scoring single by Nick Swisher with a home run. One out later, Robinson Cano doubled and came home on a single by Andruw Jones.
Cano ran his hitting streak to 21 games, the longest for the Yankees since Jeter had a 25-gamer in 2006 from Aug. 20 to Sept. 16. Cano is batting .402 with 14 runs, six doubles, six home runs and 20 RBI during the streak.
The rally guaranteed that the Yankees would extend their team steak of games in which they have scored three or more runs to 42, a franchise record and six shy of the major league mark by the 1994 Indians.
Jayson Nix, who played for the Blue Jays last year, got his second straight start against Toronto and kept up his assault on his former team. Nix, who played shortstop as Jeter was the DH, has 5-for-9 (.556) with two doubles and three runs this year against his old mates.
It was part of a good day for the Yanks’ bench. DeWayne Wise, who spelled Curtis Granderson in center field, had a double, a single and two RBI.
The Yankees finished the 5-1 homestand with their eighth series sweep, one shy of last year’s total. It was their third series sweep at home this year. The others were June 8-10 against the Mets and June 25-27 against the Indians.
The Blue Jays, once considered contenders in the American League East, fell two games under .500 and into last place, 12 ½ games behind the division-leading Yankees. Toronto had 1-for-25 (.040) with runners in scoring position in the series and lost two position players. Outielder Jose Bautista was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of a left wrist strain. Third baseman Brett Lawrie bruised his right calf tumbling into the photographer’s well next to the visitors’ dugout. It has been that kind of year for the Blue Jays, who lost three starting pitchers to injury in the same week last month.
The Yankees are off to the West Coast for a four-game series at Oakland and a three-game set at Seattle, and I am off to Cooperstown, N.Y., for the National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Weekend.
Yanks continue to flop at ‘Trop’
The Yankees have squandered their opportunity to bury the Rays in the American League East standings and need to win a pitching mismatch in Wednesday’s series finale to avoid getting swept. Recent Triple A call-up David Phelps has the assignment in the Fourth of July pairing with Tampa Bay staff ace David Price.
Tropicana Field remains a horror house for the Yankees, who have lost nine straight games at St. Petersburg, Fla. Tuesday night’s 7-4 loss ended the 12-game winning streak on the road for Ivan Nova, who lost away from Yankee Stadium for the first time since June 3 last year at Anaheim.
For the second straight night, the Yankees broke out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning only to have the rally end prematurely because of a double play. This time the twin killing was embarrassing because Robinson Cano obviously lost track of the number of outs and was doubled off first base on a routine fly ball to center field.
Also for the second straight game, Derek Jeter led off with a double. Curtis Granderson followed with a double off first baseman Carlos Pena’s glove as the Yanks got on the board immediately. One out later, Cano singled home Granderson as the second baseman extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
All this came against James Shields, one of the top starting pitchers in the American League but who has always had trouble with the Yankees. The righthander won Tuesday night but is 6-13 with a 4.58 ERA in his career against the Yankees while he is 74-55 with a 3.90 ERA against all other teams.
DeWayne Wise, whose role with the Yankees has certainly grown over the past week, raised the advantage to 3-0 with a leadoff home run in the third on a drive that slammed off a catwalk on the Tropicana Field roof in right field.
Nova had a chance to make history with this start, the 50th of his major league career. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the highest winning percentage for a pitcher through his first 50 big-league starts was the .795 for Roy Oswalt, who was 31-8. Nova went into the game with a 26-6 (.813) career mark. He could have broken the record with a victory (.818) or no-decision (.813), but the loss dropped his winning percentage to .788.
The Yankees’ defense let Nova down in the third as Tampa Bay took the lead. An error, a tough one, was charged to catcher Russell Martin for failing to hold onto the ball after taking the short-hop throw from Wise in left field following a collision at the plate with Elliot Johnson, who scored on the single by B.J. Upton.
That plate umpire Sam Holbrook reversed his call convinced the official scorer to reverse his as well. Holbrook had called Johnson out but then made the safe sign after seeing that the ball had come loose. So Martin had to be charged with an error even though it was a difficult play. The catcher seemed to recognize his error when he was observed saying to Wise in the dugout after the inning was over, “My bad.”
Nova lost the lead when he gave up a two-out, two-run single to Jeff Keppinger. The Yankees regained the lead with a two-out rally in the fourth on a double by Raul Ibanez and a single by Eric Chavez. But Nova failed again to produce a shutdown inning as Sean Rodriguez put Tampa Bay ahead once more with a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth.
The Yankees had an opportunity to tie the score in the sixth, but Cano was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first base on a double by Ibanez but was victimized on a fine relay from right fielder Ben Zobrist by Rodriguez to catcher Jose Molina. Video replays indicated that Cano perhaps got his hand on the plate before the tag, but the ball surely beat him and Holbrook was right on top of the play.
Conversely, the Rays’ base running was key to their scoring two tag-on runs in the seventh. With runners on first and third and one out, an errant throw to second by Martin on a stolen base by Upton allowed Jennings to score and Upton to get all the way to third from where he scored on a two-out single by Zobrist.
There is no getting around the fact that it was a messy game for the Yankees. Nova could not hold a 3-0 lead, the Yankees committed three errors and allowed the Rays to steal five bases, plus Cano’s brain cramp and Martin’s slump reaching 0-for-23 proportions. The trip that was supposed to be the chance for the Yankees to put space between them and the rest of the AL East field seems to be in reverse.
Cano obvious choice as AL Player of the Week
It comes as no surprise that Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano was named the American League Player of the Week for his outstanding hitting last week when he batted .414 with two doubles, four home runs and 10 RBI in 29 at-bats over seven games.
Cano’s competition for the award, which he won for the sixth time in his career and the first time since the week of Aug. 22, 2010, were his own teammates, pitcher Hiroki Kuroda and outfielder DeWayne Wise. Kuroda was 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 14 innings and Wise hit .500 with one double, one triple, two home runs and five RBI in 14 at-bats and also pitched two-thirds of an inning and allowed no runs and no hits.
Cano has a busy day Monday. In his role as AL captain of the All-Star Home Run Derby July 9, the night before the All-Star Game at Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium, Cano named Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista, Tigers first baseman Prince Fielder and Angels outfielder Mark Trumbo to the squad along with himself. Cano won the event last year. Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton and Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz had been considered by Cano but both declined to be part of the competition.
Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp, the captain of the National League squad, named fellow outfielders Carlos Beltran of the Cardinals, Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies and Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins. Kemp is on the disabled list and will not play in the All-Star Game but will participate in the Home Run Derby.
The Yankees had a new pitcher in the bullpen Monday night at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., for the start of a three-game series against the Rays. Chad Qualls, acquired from the Phillies for cash considerations and a player to be named, was 1-1 with a 4.60 ERA in 35 appearances for Philadelphia. He will replace Cory Wade, who struggled in June and was optioned to Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Also back in the dugout was outfielder-designated hitter Raul Ibanez, who stayed in New York as the Yankees traveled to Tampa to have a lacerated lip and cracked tooth repaired. Ibanez was hurt while sitting in the dugout Sunday trying to avoid being by a foul ball by White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski.
Ripken and Smoltz praise Jeter
During a conference call this week to talk about the All-Star Game voting for the July 10 event at Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium, Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. and former National League Cy Young Award winner John Smoltz commented on Derek Jeter’s runaway lead for the American League shortstop starting berth.
Ripken will be featured with former Yankees pitcher David Wells and Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley on TBS’ All-Star Game Selection show at 1 p.m. Sunday when the All-Star squads will be announced. Smoltz will team with Brian Anderson on TBS’ coverage of that day’s game between the Yankees and White Sox at Yankee Stadium.
Jeter, who turned 38 this week, has received more than four million votes going into the All-Star balloting, which ends at midnight, topped only by the leading total of Rangers center fielder Josh Hamilton. Ripken was 40 when he made his last All-Star Game appearance in his final season of 2001 at Safeco Field in Seattle where he homered and was named Most Valuable Player.
“When you get up in age, you’re scrutinized at a higher level,” Ripken said. “You can’t be [an All-Star] just on reputation. You have to go out there and still play the game. When we look at players now, you compare Derek Jeter with a younger Derek Jeter. When we start comparing players to themselves, it’s unfair. All the talk last year about [Jeter] losing a step, not being there defensively and losing some power offensively, I’m sure he internalized that and worked harder in the offseason. He’s a fantastic player and has been for a long time.”
“I’m a big believer that age is just a number and sometimes we get carried away with guys not having success later in their careers,” Smoltz said. “He plays in a great place and he knows how to play the game. The Yankees are being rewarded with a player who has a lot of pride and does not rest on his laurels with the career that he has had.”
Welcome back to the American League
So finally we are done with inter-league play for 2012, until the World Series, that is. No more pitchers not hitting, double switches and all that National League stuff as the Yankees got back to American League baseball Monday night at Yankee Stadium. In the long run, however, the Yankees can be grateful to inter-league competition because they increased their all-time lead in inter-league winning percentage by going 13-5 against the NL this year.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi could once again lean on the AL’s designated hitter rule to form his lineup. Monday night, the skipper decided it was time to give Curtis Granderson a night off from center field and used him as the DH. That opened a spot for reserve outfielder DeWayne Wise, who celebrated his rare start by hitting his first home run for the Yankees, a two-run shot to right field in the second inning. It was his first home run since Sept. 25 last year for the Blue Jays against the Rays.
Wise drove in another run in the sixth inning of the 7-1 victory over the Indians when he drilled a triple to right-center that scored Eric Chavez, who had walked with two out. In truth, Wise was fortunate to be credited with a triple because video replays showed that he was tagged out by third baseman Jack Hannahan before he reached the bag. Even though the play occurred in front of the Cleveland dugout, Tribe manager Manny Acta did not argue the call.
The Yankees scored two runs in each of the first three innings against Indians starter Josh Tomlin, who did not come out for the fourth. Robinson Cano was a particular problem for Tomlin. Cano got the two-run thing going in the first inning with a double to right that scored a pair. In the third, Cano and Nick Swisher hit back-to-back home runs as the Yanks continued to add to their major-league leading total of round trippers.
Cano, who took over the top spot at second base over the Rangers’ Ian Kinsler in the latest vote tally of All-Star Game balloting, has homered in six of his past eight games, including two long bombs, both off Miguel Batista, at Citi Field in last weekend’s Subway Series. Cano has 14 home runs over his past 34 games since May 18 after hitting only three homers in his first 38 games of the season.
Hiroki Kuroda pithed pitched brilliantly for seven innings and then sort of hit the wall at 100 pitches. He took a three-hit shutout into the eighth before giving up a single and double to the first two batters and was relieved by Clay Rapada.
Kuroda was nearly as dominant as he had been in a seven-inning one-hitter June 8 against the Mets at the Stadium. Of the 21 outs he recorded, only three were in the outfield. He got 10 outs in the infield and seven on strikeouts. One of the runners he put on scored, but his ERA dropped to 3.40.
It was a crowd-pleasing eighth inning for Swisher, who made all three putouts on running catches in right field and was treated to hearty cheers when he led off the bottom half. He even got cheered after he struck out.
Yanks already successful in 2012 inter-league play
Regardless of the outcome of the Subway Series this weekend at Citi Field, the Yankees are guaranteed their 13th consecutive winning season in inter-league play since 2000. Despite the assault of several late-afternoon thunderstorms, Friday night’s game was able to get under way at 8:03 p.m., less than an hour after the previously-scheduled 7:10 p.m. first pitch.
The Yankees entered the game against the Mets with an 11-4 record in inter-league play this year, having already played the Reds (1-2), Mets (3-0), Braves (4-2) and Nationals (3-0). The Yankees were 13-5 in inter-league play in 2011 to tie the Angels for the best such record in the majors.
At 168-111 (.602) in inter-league competition, the Yankees have the most victories and highest winning percentage since American League and National League teams began playing each other during the regular season in 1997. The Yankees got off to a rough start that first year with a 5-10 record, the only time they lost more games than they won. Their overall record includes a 35-52 mark against the Mets.
Derek Jeter is the all-time inter-league leader in hits (343) and runs (195). Alex Rodriguez is the career leader in inter-league runs batted in RBI (197), ranks second in hits (304) and third in runs (181).
Yankees pitchers have batted a combined .098 with eight doubles, 11RBI and 40 sacrifices in 317 inter-league at-bats. Ivan Nova’s single in the second inning June 11 at Atlanta ended a hitless string of 22 at-bats by Yankees pitchers since Andy Pettitte’s single June 22 at Arizona. A Yankee pitcher has never homered in inter-league play. The last Yankees pitcher to hit a home run in a regular-season game was Lindy McDaniel Sept. 28, 1972 at Detroit off Mickey Lolich.
Jeter could do without inter-league play
As successful as he has been in his career against the Mets, Derek Jeter might be expected to prefer playing them more than less. What is even weirder is that Jeter would rather not play them during the regular season at all. The World Series? Well, that’s all well and good to the Captain, but he made it clear Friday night before the 16th version of the Subway Series that he is not a fan of inter-league play.
“I’d rather not play the National League teams during the season,” Jeter said. “When I came up, you didn’t play the other league until you got to the World Series. I understand that [inter-league play] is great for the fans, but I kind of like it the other way.”
If not for inter-league play, however, DJ wouldn’t have such gaudy numbers against the Mets or the rest of the NL for that matter. After all, Jeter entered Friday night’s game with the most hits (328) and runs (185) of any player in inter-league competition.
Against the Mets specifically, Jeter is a .381 hitter in 320 at-bats, the highest average by a player with a minimum of 150 at-bats against them (second at .380 in 300 at-bats is Rico Carty). And that does not include what Jeter did against the Mets in their only real Subway Series, the 2000 World Series when the shortstop hit .409 with two doubles, one triple, two home runs, two RBI and six runs and was named the Most Valuable Player of the Series.
Jeter took a 25-game home hitting streak against the Mets into the game, dating to June 28, 2003 with 26 runs, seven doubles, six home runs, 15 RBI and six walks while batting .481 in 106 at-bats. DJ was also a career .455 hitter in 33 at-bats against Johan “No-Hit” Santana.
Attendance figures this weekend at the Stadium and two weeks from now at Citi Field will likely confirm that the Subway Series is popular with New York’s baseball fans. However, the glow has disappeared for many of the participants. When inter-league play began in 1997, the Yankees and Mets played three games at Yankee Stadium. In 1998, they had a three-game series at Shea Stadium. Since 1999, they have played six games against each other, three in the Bronx and three in Flushing. A feeling within both clubhouses is that two series a year is one too many.
There have been discussions already about the schedule in 2013 when the Astros will move from the NL Central to the American League West that will make it more balanced. The geographical rivalries will remain but to become more balanced one series rather than two would better serve that purpose.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi has talked a lot recently about a more balanced schedule. It bothers him that teams fighting for the same prize may not have the same opponents for a significant number of games. For example, this year the Yankees’ inter-league opponents – Reds, Mets, Braves, Nationals – features two current division leaders (Cincinnati and Washington) and have a combined winning percentage of .562 (127-99), the highest for any AL team. The Yanks’ inter-league schedule is so bizarre this season that they play two NL East teams, the Mets and the Braves, in two series but do not play the Phillies or Marlins at all.
Girardi and his Mets counterpart, Terry Collins, both said they would prefer the annual Subway Series be a three-game rather than a six-game series.
“That way there would be a sure winner of the series every year,” Girardi said.
“You know the Yankees are going to have a strong lineup every year,” Collins said, “so three instead of six games is fine with me.”
But all that is at least a year away, indeed if there is a change. For now, the Subway Series is a home-and-away affair.
“I know the fans love it,” Jeter said. “You can feel their intensity. There’s a lot of energy in the stadium. It’s similar to when we play Boston.”
Cano named captain of AL Home Run Derby squad
Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano was named American League captain for the 2012 State Farm Home Run Derby July 9, the night before the All-Star Game at Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium. His National League counterpart is Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp.
This year’s Home Run Derby will follow the format introduced in 2011 at Chase Field in Phoenix, featuring team competition between the leagues. Last year, the AL won, 76-19. Cano and Kemp will determine the other participants on their teams and will personally extend the invitations. Each captain will select a charity of his choice for which his team will be hitting in the Derby.
In his first career Home Run Derby appearance, Cano set a final-round record with 12 home runs, topping the previous mark of 11 set by Bobby Abreu in 2005 and matched by David Ortiz in 2010 and Adrian Gonzalez earlier in last year’s final. With his father serving as his pitcher, Cano, who joined Ryne Sandberg (1990) as the only second basemen to win a Home Run Derby, hit 32 home runs during the competition, placing him 13th on the all-time list. Cano says he will bring his father back again this year.
Major League Baseball and State Farm will donate a significant amount of money for charity through the event. Donations will be made of $150,000 awarded to the winning captain’s charity, $100,000 to Boys & Girls Club of America in the name of the winning captain and $25,000 to the charity of the captain of the losing team.
The total money amount will be determined by the home runs hit during the competition. State Farm and MLB will combine to donate $18,000 for every home run hit with a gold ball during the competition. The dollar figure was selected to coincide with the number of State Farm agents throughout the United States and Canada. State Farm will also give $3,000 for every non-gold ball hit during the Derby. Cano and Kemp are supporters of Boys and Girls Club of America and have participated in public service announcements.
Yankees Museum features Mickey Mantle exhibit
The New York Yankees Museum presented by Bank of America, which is located on the Main Level of Yankee Stadium near Gate 6, has opened a new exhibit this homestand entitled, “Mickey Mantle: The Life and Legacy of a Baseball Hero.” It includes a selection of artifacts borrowed from the Mantle family and private collectors, some of which are being put on display for the first time.
Featured artifacts include:
• Mantle’s first Yankees contract, signed when he joined the organization in 1949.
• His 1956 American League Most Valuable Player Award and Hickok Belt Award.
• Game-worn jerseys from 1959 and 1961, along with a jersey and pants set from 1968.
• His outfielder’s glove from his third MVP season of 1962.
• His bat used in the 1964 World Series to hit his final postseason home run, off Cardinals lefthander Curt Simmons in Game 6 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
• Baseball cards from each of his 18 seasons, including his 1951 Bowman rookie card and 1952 Topps card.
Mantle remains one of the most popular players in baseball history, let alone among Yankees fans. A powerful switch-hitter, the “Commerce Comet” batted .298 with 536 home runs over an 18-season career from 1951-68 played entirely with the Yankees. His clubs won seven World Series (1951-53, ’56, ’58, ’61-62) and appeared in the Fall Classic 12 times (also 1955, ’57, ’60, ’63-64). His 18 home runs are the most in World Series play.
Mickey’s uniform No. 7 was retired by the Yankees in 1969. It remains the only No. 7 retired by a major league baseball team (although the Rangers are strongly considering retiring the same number for recently retired catcher Ivan Rodriguez). Mantle was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1974 and inducted that year with long-time teammate Whitey Ford.
The Mantle exhibit is the second new installation to open this season at the New York Yankees Museum presented by Bank of America, joining “Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig: Baseball’s Hardest-Hitting Teammates.” The Ruth and Gehrig exhibit includes the bat used by Ruth to hit Yankee Stadium’s first home run April 18, 1923, a ticket stub from the game featuring Gehrig’s “Luckiest Man” speech July 4, 1939 and game-worn Yankees caps and jerseys from Ruth and Gehrig.
Artifacts from the Ruth and Gehrig exhibit are borrowed from the private collections of Marshall Fogel and Dr. Richard C. Angrist, with all photos coming from the Fogel collection. Guests can enjoy the New York Yankees Museum presented by Bank of America on game days from the time the gates open until the end of the eighth inning. On non-game days, visitors can experience the museum as part of Yankee Stadium tours.
The Mantle exhibit, as well as the Ruth/Gehrig exhibit, will remain on display in the New York Yankees Museum presented by Bank of America through the end of the 2013 season.
Complete game completes successful trip
As a fan of old-time baseball, I find very little I enjoy more than watching a starting pitcher shake a catcher’s hand after getting the 27th out of a game. For those who have been weaned on pitch counts and Tony La Russa-inspired bullpen overuse, the site of a starter still on the mound for a game’s final out is something known as a complete game, which is just what the Yankees got out of Phil Hughes Sunday in a 5-1 Yankees victory at Detroit.
How unusual was what happened at Comerica Park as the Yankees ended their three-city trip with a 6-3 record? It was the first nine-inning complete game for Hughes, who made his 82nd major-league start. And it was the first complete game for any Yankees pitcher since July 10 last year by CC Sabathia against the Rays at Yankee Stadium.
Yeah, I know, I know; it’s a different game today; protect pitchers’ arms, blah, blah, blah. It is nonetheless extremely satisfying to see a pitcher enjoy an afternoon that Hughes had Sunday. It has been a bumpy season for the righthander with suggestions being made that he may be better served in the bullpen. Hughes, who improved his record to 5-5 with a 4.96 ERA, certainly gave evidence to his supporters in the Yankees’ front office that he belongs in the rotation.
Make no mistake; this was a tense match-up for Hughes, who was paired against last year’s American League Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award winner, Justin Verlander, who had not lost three decisions in a row since 2008. Until Sunday, that is. The book on Verlander is to try to get to him early before he gets into a groove and starts playing with 100 miles per hour on the radar gun.
The Yankees did their best to do that. Derek Jeter homered on the first pitch of the game. It ended a homerless drought of 105 at-bats since May 4 for the Captain. How’s that for an early jump? Verlander followed that with two walks, very uncharacteristic, and gave up a second run on a sacrifice fly by Mark Teixeira. That turned out to be all the offense Hughes needed.
The only run the Tigers managed off Phil was Prince Fielder’s ninth home run off a first-pitch curve in the fourth inning. Detroit got only one other base runner to second base in the game, and that was on a first-inning passed ball by Russell Martin. Hughes held the Tigers to three other hits, all singles, and three walks with eight strikeouts.
The Yankees had another dreadful day with runners in scoring position (1-for-11; they are down to .219 in 448 at-bats in the clutch for the season), but the stat for this game proved insignificant as the Yankees kept up the attack on Verlander, whose record fell to 5-4 with a 2.67 ERA. Alex Rodriguez smoked a 447-foot home run off the back wall of Comerica Park in left-center in the third inning.
Detroit’s shaky defense hurt Verlander in the fifth when the Yankees added two runs. Curtis Granderson, who doubled, was able to score on a two-out fly ball to right-center by Robinson Cano that probably should have been caught but fell between center fielder Quintin Berry and right fielder Brennan Boesch for a triple, ironically the Yankees’ lone hit with a runner in scoring position. Cano scored on the play as well on a throwing error by second baseman Danny Worth, who was not aided by third baseman Miguel Cabrera’s ole swipe at the ball that ended up in the photographers’ well next to the Detroit dugout.
For the pitch-count geeks, Hughes’ total Sunday was 123. It is merely a number. What should be given greater consideration is how a pitcher gets to a certain number of pitches. In Hughes’ case, he had a free and easy afternoon. His reward was a simple handshake, something I wish was a lot more frequent in the modern game.
Jack O'Connell
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